So i’m not drinking in 2017 [just in case the title wasn’t too obvious]. i mean i’m drinking water, and coffee, and chocolate shots if i ever go back to Spice Route cos chocolate shots, Mmm… but not the alcohol.

And it’s not actually the biggest deal. i don’t think i have a drinking problem [ah, but that’s EXACTLY what people with drinking problems say]. i just was thinking about not drinking for a year in the last days of 2016 [a year that truly encouraged drinking if there was one] and didn’t quite get to the point of completely making up my mind when New Year’s hit and so i declined a drink and then carried on…

COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE MADE THE CUT

chocolate and coffee

i can’t even remember what sparked it all to be honest, but coffee and chocolate were two other things i was considering fasting for 2017.

i actually gave up Coke and Chocolate for a year back in my college days – i wasn’t overdoing either of them particularly [okay, maybe chocolate? can one overdo chocolate?] but it was more a case of seeing if i could.

At the time i was maybe drinking a 500ml bottle of coke twice or three times a week so not crazy.

And to be honest, i found it quite easy. When i finished my fast i found that i had completely lost the taste for Coke. Even now i might drink it after a sports game or possibly at a braai, but i tend to go for water as my first choice and then alcohol or fruit juice. i try and avoid fizzy drinks for the most part these days.

Chocolate i remember breaking the fast a week early but, for those who know me, hearing that i gave up chocolate for 358 days or so will no doubt come as a surprise.

SELF-DISCIPLINE

For me, it’s the concept of fasting which i see as discipline. If i can’t give up something then perhaps that thing is a problem for me. Which i would only really be able to figure out once i’d tried to give it up.

So for me this year of no alcohol is a quest for self-discipline. Do i need alcohol? no. Do i need to give it up? Not really? Can i? Let’s see.

We were camping over New Years and the wine was flowing like fermented grape juice and so suddenly overnight i went from being a part of the group to being a little bit off to the side.

The Joker and drink

Fortunately, that was not the reaction of the people i was with. And i don’t know that i am good friends with people who would have that kind of reaction. Surprise and interest are the two reactions i expect the most. Which in itself is a good life lesson i think.

Fasting is one way of really getting to know yourself. And explore the hold the thing you are fasting from has on you or not. So i would highly recommend it.

A year of no chocolate seems like a big deal until you’ve done a year of no chocolate [and still have 40 plus years of chocolate ahead of you, seriously, perspective] and then you’ll have that year of no chocolate experience and knowledge forever.

Have you ever given up anything for a year? Is there something in your life that you think you couldn’t? Is that cause for concern?

Anyone want to join me but with your own thing? Can do a 352 day fast of something… and then we can crack open a bottle of Nachtmusiek at New Year’s to celebrate. Seriously, chocolate alcohol – that’s one i will be missing…

[For the next post which invites you to join me in 2018, click here]